The 15 book thing has been floating around facebook for a bit, so I’m tweaking it. Because I feel like it. Here are (in no particular order) are 15 of my favorite short story collections. Or at least the 15 that come to mind at ll pm, anyway. You’ll notice me cheating as well.

1. The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, by Aimee Bender
2. I Sailed With Magellan, by Stuart Dybek
3. Love and Hydrogen, by Jim Shepard
3b. Like You’d Understand, Anyway, by Jim Shepard
4. The Imago Sequence, by Laird Barron
4b. Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters, by John Langan
5. Tumble Home, by Amy Hempel
6. The View from the Seventh Layer, by Kevin Brockmeier
7. Angry Candy, by Harlan Ellison
8. Pastoralia, by George Saunders
9. The Ladies of Grace Adieu, by Susanna Clarke
10. Magic for Beginners, by Kelly Link
11. Dreamscapes and Nightmares, by Stephen King
12. The Diving Pool, by Yoko Ogawa
13. A Better Angel, by Chris Adrian
14. How to Breathe Underwater, by Julie Orringer
15. Magic and Terror, by Peter Straub